Overview / Synthesis

The 10 articles presented all possess a common theme of the importance of multiliteracies and ICT and ensure there is a framework in place to assure success for students. There was another common them among a couple of the other articles, popular culture. As Borsheim, Merritt & Reed (2008) states the nature of literacies is changing, our society is changing and students are constantly engaging in a society that demand students to be capable of using technology. With this continuous rapid change to society, it brings about the need to change the way students engage in learning, learning needs to be relevant and meaningful to students. Unsworth (2008) outlined and discussed the traditional forms of being literate and how these have changed, there are now new forms of literacies that require students to engage with literacies in changing social and cultural contexts.

It was evident from these articles that there needs to be a combination of traditional literacies, new literacies, specifically text types that explore visual images, websites and multimedia texts. Students need the contemporary literacies learning with the new multiliteracies learning to ensure students are successful in engaging in a society that is constantly changing. The articles raise the importance that literacy learning needs to identify and take into consideration students social and cultural contexts to fully engage and motivate students to engage with literacies in ways that are relevant and meaningful to the students, but also relevant to the society students are required to be successful participants of. As stated by Beavis (2004) and Yelland, O'Rourk & Harrison (2009) students require learning that is relevant to real world activities that include student's interests, ensuring these elements are included in teaching and learning will benefit both teachers and students. Popular culture was showcased in some of these articles specifically Beavis (2004) and Hesterman (2011) as a great way to engage and motivate students to engage with literacy, specifically multiliteracies. The articles highlighted that with some creative lesson that are child-centered and embedding popular culture with ICT's students feel motivated to engage in literacy learning, as the learning is relevant to their everyday lives.As students engage with literacies and ICT's they are able to make their own meaning through interpreting written, verbal and audio codes. ICT's not only allows students to engage in literacy but to be efficient in using them. It is the aim and focus of the articles is that teachers adopt these new ways of engaging students in literacies learning through ICT's. It is a teachers responsibility to recognise the importance of ICT's in literacy, use these in their classrooms and ensure that their own knowledge and skills in ICT's is up to date and relevant, to be able to teach this to their students. It is an educator's responsibility to ensure they are preparing their students to be successful participants engaging with multiliteracies in this ever changing society.